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World Passport

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File:World Passport Cover.jpg
World Passport issued in 2010

The World Passport is a document issued by the World Service Authority, a non-profit organization founded by Garry Davis in 1948,[1] citing Article 13, Section 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Appearance and issuance fees

The World Passport is similar in appearance to a national passport or other travel document. Indeed, the appearance is so close that in 1974 a criminal case was lodged against Garry Davis in France regarding his issuance of World Passports.[2] In 1979, the World Passport was a 42-page document, with a dark blue cover, and text in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, German, and Esperanto. It contained a five-page section for medical history and a six-page section for listing organisational affiliation. The fee charged at that time was $32 and postage for a three-year passport with the possibility of two years' extension of validity.[3]

The latest edition of the World Passport, issued January 2007, is an MRD (machine readable document) with an alphanumeric code bar enabling computer input plus an embedded "ghost" photo for security, printing covered with a plastic film. According to the WSA website, the application fee is $45 for a three-year passport, $75 for a five-year passport, and $100 for an eight-year passport.[4]

As a travel document

Country or territory Acceptance
 Belarus Not accepted[5]
 Burkina Faso No longer accepted[6]
[citation needed]
 Canada Not accepted[7]
 Ecuador Accepted[8]
 European Union Not accepted[9]
 Holy See Supportive[10]
 Japan Not accepted[11]
 Macau Not accepted[12]
 Mauritania Accepted[13]
 New Zealand Not accepted[14]
 Russia Not accepted[15]
 Tanzania Accepted[16]
 Togo Accepted[17]
 United States Not accepted[18]
 Zambia No longer accepted[19]
[citation needed]

Notable acceptances

According to the World Service Authority website, World Passports have reportedly been accepted on a de facto, case-by-case basis by over 150 countries (i.e. they have been stamped with a national visa or entry or exit stamp), and several countries have accorded the document legal recognition. [20] Other countries and territories have stated that they do not recognize such documents because they are not issued by a competent government authority, and thus do not meet the definition of a passport.

The World Passport came under increased international scrutiny in 1996, after the hijacking of the MS Achille Lauro. In the aftermath of the incident, one of the captured hijackers, Youssef Majed al-Molqi, escaped imprisonment in Italy and used a World Passport he acquired in 1988 to leave the country and travel to Spain before he was recaptured.[21][22][23]

Russia in general does not accept the World Passport. In a 1995 interview with Kommersant, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Consular Services stated that the World Passport is not an acceptable document for proving identity or citizenship status at Russian border crossings; only a diplomatic passport, official passport, seaman's passport, or general civil passport are accepted.[15] However one media report claims that some members of the House of Romanov, travelling to Saint Petersburg in 1995 for the reburial of the remains of their ancestors, were permitted by Russian authorities to obtain visas in their World Passports, in light of the special situation.[24]

Notable rejections

Travelling on a World Passport has never been easy. By 1975, Garry Davis had already been imprisoned 20 times for his attempts to cross international borders with nothing but a World Passport.[25] As early as 1991, the US Air Transport Association specifically included the World Passport in a training film as an example of unacceptable travel papers.[26] Peace activist Kenneth O'Keefe tried to travel to Iraq using a World Passport in 2003, but was rejected transit rights by Turkey, and had to apply for an American passport to continue his journey.[27][28] In 2004 in the People's Republic of China, two men from Fujian on board Cathay Pacific Flight 302 from Hong Kong to Guangzhou attempted to pass through immigration at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport using World Passports. (Hong Kong and mainland China, though both part of the same country, have separate immigration systems, due to one country, two systems). The officers at the airport arrested them for illegal entry.[29] Also, though Garry Davis himself travelled to India some decades ago using his World Passport and gave one personally to Jawaharlal Nehru,[30][31] in May 2007 an Indian citizen was arrested for attempting to leave India at Begumpet Airport using his World Passport. The man had intended to travel to the United States. His travel agency and Air India staff both accepted his World Passport, but Indian immigration did not.[32] In December 2008, a man claiming to be a Russian citizen attempted to cross the border from Latvia into Belarus at the Urbany checkpoint using a World Passport; he stated he lost his Russian documents while in Sweden. He was arrested by the Belarusian border guards. A spokesman for Belarus' State Border Committee in an interview with a local newspaper stated that Belarus does not accept the World Passport at border crossings. He also claimed it was the first known case of its kind in the country.[5][33]

Use by refugees and stateless persons

The World Service Authority issues World Passports to refugees and other people who are unable to obtain valid, usable travel documents. However, many of those refugees, after getting their hopes up, have found World Passports to be useless.[26] According to statements by Garry Davis in the mid-1970s, major users of World Passports at the time included persons in Southeast Asia fleeing from the wars there, as well as holders of Rhodesian passports who were otherwise unable to travel internationally as no other country accepted their documents besides South Africa.[34] Will Reed, a former U.S. Army soldier who renounced his U.S. citizenship in protest against the Vietnam War, was held in jail in Thailand until he attained release after getting a World Passport.[3]

By 1991 the WSA claims to have issued "hundreds of thousands" of World Passports to refugees.[26] Many East African refugees arriving in Nordic countries in the early 1990s had World Passports.[35] In July 2011, a Georgian citizen attempted to pass through Latvian border control with a World Passport, though he also had a valid Georgian passport in his possession; after presenting his World Passport, he requested asylum in Latvia.[36]

Another category of users of World Passports are stowaways on ships. Vessel owners are legally responsible for the stowaways until they can find a country to let them ashore, but countries are often reluctant due to questions over the validity of the stowaways' documents. Lawyers working for maritime insurers sometimes turn to the WSA when all other options are exhausted. From 1992 to 2006 the WSA issued five such documents.[37]

As an identity document

The World Service Authority promotes the World Passport not just as a document for international travel, but a "neutral, apolitical document of identity".[38] Investor Doug Casey, himself a World Passport holder, has suggested that a World Passport is useful at hotels and other non-governmental institutions where security is uncertain; if one is asked to hand over one's passport in such situations, one can provide the World Passport instead of a national passport.[39] Governmental authorities do not share this assessment.

In the United Kingdom, the Criminal Records Bureau of the United Kingdom's Home Office states that registered bodies should not accept the World Passport as a proof of identity, warning that "a fake ‘World Passport’ can be purchased online by members of the public and should not be confused with a genuine passport".[40] The Isle of Man's Financial Supervision Commission, which regulates the isle's banks and company formation agents, states that the World Passport is not an acceptable document to prove either the nationality or identity of the bearer. Specifically, it classifies it as a spurious or fantasy passport, a term which it defines to mean as documents which "have the appearance of a passport, but are issued by organisations with no authority and to which no official recognition has been given".[41]

With regards to the United States, the Social Security Administration will also not accept any World Service Authority document (including the World Passport and World Donor Passport) as evidence of identity, age, citizenship, alien status, or marital status for either claims or enumeration purposes.[42] The Virginia Department of Social Services explicitly classifies all World Service Authority documents as "unacceptable documents" for verification of identity.[43] The United States Department of State instructs all U.S. embassies and consulates not to provide any notarial, apostille, or other authentication services in respect of World Passports, whether regarding the World Passport itself or documents relating to an application for a World Passport. They warn that such documents could be used for fraudulent or criminal purposes.[44][45] In 1996, an Indiana man was able to obtain a World Passport in a name other than his own legal name, but was detected after repeated attempts to use it to prove his identity when opening business accounts at various area banks. He was convicted of fraud on a financial institution, and his conviction was upheld on appeal.[46]

As a political statement

Regardless of its acceptance or lack thereof, a traveler may also obtain a World Passport as a moral statement of his or her belief in the inalienable right to travel under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[3] A number of Russian citizens have obtained the World Passport as a form of protest against the "red tape" imposed by the Russian government on their own citizens aiming to travel abroad.[47] In 1977, two mayors of West Bank towns applied for World Passports during a visit by Garry Davis.[48]

Counterfeits and fraudulent issuance

Despite its limited acceptance among the countries of the world, the World Passport is so popular that criminals have even taken to producing fake ones. The Isle of Man's Financial Supervision Commission reports that they have identified counterfeit World Passports.[41] Also, the first cross-jurisdictional fake passport case ever found in Guangzhou, Guangdong involved counterfeit World Passports as well. In February 1981, the local Public Security Bureau identified some Hong Kong criminals who were charging would-be World Passport holders more than ¥18,000 (more than US$10,000 at the official exchange rate at that time) in processing fees, and misrepresenting to them that World Passport holders could settle in any country in the world.[49]

As mentioned above, Russia does not accept World Passports, but in the 1990s, many company formation agents in Russia sold the World Passport together in a package-deal with the setup of an offshore company (international business company), and falsely claimed that all countries of the world accept it as an identity document.[15] In some cases such companies charged up to US$1,000 for the passport alone.[50]

In Malaysia in 1994, a Nigerian man was arrested at the Central Market, Kuala Lumpur by tourist police during an identity check, after he showed a World Passport. A search of his belongings showed that he carried a total of five World Passports, as well as a Nigerian passport that had been used by another person to travel to Malaysia and Hong Kong. Authorities suspected he might be trying to sell the passports to other foreign nationals lacking valid travel documents.[51]

Images

  • Data page
    Data page
  • Old version
    Old version

List of World Passport holders

This is a list of notable people who have been issued with World Passports. Some may have made applications of their own volition, while others were unilaterally issued with passports on the initiative of the WSA.

See also

References

  1. ^ 99-1334 - U.S. v. Thomas - 7 July 2000
  2. ^ World citizen, an article by Mark Blackburn in The Leader-Post (31 May 1974)
  3. ^ a b c 'World' passport termed advisable, an article by John Brannon Albright in the Bangor Daily News (26 October 1979)
  4. ^ Application Form for World Passport on World Service Authority's website
  5. ^ a b Белорусские пограничники задержали гражданина мира, an article from Lenta.ru (23 December 2008)
  6. ^ Burkina Faso acceptance letter. 24 October 1972.
  7. ^ Nigeria: Information on the "world passport", its validity, the issuing agency/company; on whether it is recognized as a travel document by any government; and on its use by Nigerian citizens.
  8. ^ Ecuador acceptance letter. 5 August 1954.
  9. ^ Table of travel documents entitling the holder to cross the external borders and which may be endorsed with a visa - (Parts II and II) and Part V (documents to which visas cannot be affixed. Council of the European Union. 1 December 2008. The World Passport is placed in the latter category.
  10. ^ Vatican interest letter. 18 April 1983.
  11. ^ Nigeria: Information on whether Japanese officials and/or airline officials at Narita airport permit boarding if a "world passport" is the travel document
  12. ^ Macau Airport: Arrival Procedures.
  13. ^ Mauritania acceptance letter. 28 July 1975
  14. ^ A2.15 Unacceptable travel documents. 15 December 2006.
  15. ^ a b c Лучший Способ Потерять Деньги, an article by Svetlana Branitskaya (18 June 1995)
  16. ^ Tanzania acceptance letter. 24 July 1995.
  17. ^ Togo acceptance letter. 21 March 1983.
  18. ^ U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 – Consular Affairs.
  19. ^ Zambia acceptance letter. 19 April 1973.
  20. ^ List of countries that have accepted the WSA passport
  21. ^ Achille Lauro killer likely fled to Algeria: Furloughed terrorist used documents from U.S. to escape, an article by Peggy Polk in The Washington Times (22 March 1996)
  22. ^ a b Private 'authority' issues passports: Escaped terrorist among recipients, an article by Paige Bowers in The Washington Times (22 March 1996)
  23. ^ U.S. State Department Briefing by spokesman Glyn Davies (22 March 1996)
  24. ^ Паспорт, который только в Африке паспорт, an article by Valeriya Mozganova on Travel.ru (22 January 1997)
  25. ^ Oddities in the news, article in The Calgary Herald (5 May 1975)
  26. ^ a b c Documents for Refugees Criticized as Passports to Heartbreak, article by Karlyn Barker in The Washington Post (10 December 1991)
  27. ^ a b Electing to leave: A reader's guide to expatriating on November 3, article by Bryant Urstadt in Harper's Magazine (October 2004)
  28. ^ Ken O'Keefe - On Being a World Citizen, article by Tim King in Salem News (10 May 2011)
  29. ^ 持“世界护照”入境？白云边检识破偷渡者, an article on Sina.com (25 September 2004)
  30. ^ a b 'World Passport' Given to Nehru by Garry Davis, a Chicago Daily Tribune article (9 June 1956)
  31. ^ Excludable alien with world passport, a Times of India article (10 December 2002)
  32. ^ 'World passport' to nowhere, The Times of India article (24 May 2007)
  33. ^ Полоцкие пограничники поймали гражданина мира, an article from Naviny.by (23 December 2008)
  34. ^ U.S. Native advocates borderless world, an article in The Southeast Missourian (27 August 1975)
  35. ^ 'People Smugglers' Send New Tide of Refugees Onto Nordic Shores, article by Henry Kamm in The New York Times (15 February 1993)
  36. ^ Georgian citizen presents world passport to Latvian border guards, an article by Alla Petrova in The Baltic Course, 27 July 2011
  37. ^ Stowaway: A man with no country. From port to port, he is trapped on a ship., article by Gaiutra Bahadur in The Philadelphia Inquirer (30 January 2006)
  38. ^ The World Passport on the World Service Authority website
  39. ^ a b Internationalman.com
  40. ^ Disclosure News, May 2009
  41. ^ a b Public Warning: False Identity Documents on Gov.im
  42. ^ RM 10210.720 Other and Novelty Birth Records, Social Security Administration, 2 May 2011
  43. ^ Virginia Department of Social Services; Auxiliary Grant Program, NOn Financial REquirements, Volume II, Part III, Chapter C, page 6]
  44. ^ 7 FAM 890 UNUSUAL NOTARIAL REQUESTS. See: "7 FAM 893 NOTARIZATION OF WORLD SERVICE AUTHORITY-RELATED DOCUMENTS" (28 December 2007).
  45. ^ Message re apostille issues, Department of State (8 July 2004)
  46. ^ Asghar v. State of Indiana (3 September 1998)
  47. ^ Зачем россияне становятся Гражданами Мира?, an article in Abakan Gazeta (17 September 2009)
  48. ^ World Citizen Makes Offer To Arabs, an article in the Observer-Reporter (Jan 22, 1977)
  49. ^ 警界纵横, on the website of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, gzjd.gov.cn
  50. ^ Осторожно: стантия лоховская. Не пытайтесь стать "гражданином мира", article by Sergey Zatsepin in Argumenty i Fakty (5 February 1997)
  51. ^ Nigerian with 'World Passports' detained, an article in the New Straits Times (20 May 1994)
  52. ^ What's a World Passport? article by Daniel Engber in slate.com (March 24, 2006)
  53. ^ A Talk With the Holder Of World Passport No. 1: "Passports Are a Joke", article by Harry Benson in The New York Times (October 18, 1970)
  54. ^ Bill Worthy hailed as 'World Citizen', an article in the Baltimore Afro-American (Feb. 9, 1957)
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